Sherman also urged fans criticizing Manning's Super Bowl performance to let up because Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

This Super Bowl also taught people a lot about racial stereotyping.

Calmly, not raging, Sherman discussed the subject early in Super Bowl week sessions with the media.

He had come a long way from his Compton days. It was no fluke he got into Stanford. His grades were excellent. Bur he was a big, intimidating person who spoke his mind. And also a black man. Some people were offended and rushed to judgment.

He probably could have done better without behaving in a way that led some people to call him a thug. But by the time he arrived in New York for the Super Bowl he had grown up a lot in a couple of weeks.

In his interviews Monday he praised many of his teammates, especially the ones who hadn't been high draft choices.

It was all about the team, not about him, and that's another reason why I like him a lot better.